Signature of Baldaser Hammen (Balser or Palser Hammer) 2 Sep 1817

From Eric Hedrick's third CD of Pendleton County, WV marriage bonds http://www.erichedrick.com/research/ is an incomplete bond (#158) for Jacob Rexrode which contains a signature - in German script - for Baldaser Hammen.

Eric cropped the last three letters of each name from the German script and kindly gave permission for me to share it with this post. Even if you don't read German, you can see that the formation of the final letter in each is different - a German "r" at the end of the first name and a German "n" at the end of the last name. Balser signed his last name Hammen (actually Hamen with the bar over the m which doubles it in German).

I'd previously posted that George Hammer (who described Balser Hammer as a kinsman in his will) had been listed under several spelling variations ( as Haman in at least one Augusta County record) and that his name was transcribed by Strassburger (Pennsylvania German Pioneers) as Jeorg Haman (Ship Patience, August 11, 1750).

There has been some discussion as to whether George Hammer changed his name to suit his trade (which may have been carpenter or coffin maker). It’s now a valid question as to whether the original surname of both George Hammer and Balser Hammer was Hamman/Haman or Hammen/Hamen.

You can see the attachment with the cropped signature at the bottom of this post at the Pendleton Co., WV message board. Click on it to enlarge. If you’re accessing this message from another site or an email bounce, you will not be able to the attachment unless you go the message board site.